


Mrs. Mellark

by kat777



Series: If You Burn [3]
Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, F/M, Forced Marriage, Jealousy, minor Everlark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 19:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kat777/pseuds/kat777
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he calls her Mrs. Mellark, he honestly doesn’t mean for his voice to sound so flat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mrs. Mellark

**Author's Note:**

> There was a different twist for the third Quarter Quell.
> 
> Originally posted on ff.net under the user name Kat.R.777.

Haymitch warns Cinna that the proposal is coming, which is good because that gives him a few hours to sit at his desk and sketch until his left hand is aching, to channel his emotions into his work so that when Peeta gets down on one knee and Katniss says _yesyesyes_ , Cinna is able to put on a mask of delight.

oOo

Later that night at the party, he congratulates the star-crossed lovers on their engagement and asks Katniss for a dance. He leads her into the crowd, places a hand at her waist as her own hand settles on his shoulder.

 _Congratulations,_ he says again. _I'm so happy for you both._

He expects her to smile and nod. Instead she says, _Don't lie to me._

oOo

Her photo shoot gets pushed back a couple of months and no one will tell him the real reason. Katniss has a scar on her cheek and she says she slipped and fell on the ice. He doesn't believe her because he knows a whip mark when he sees it, but he also knows that she thinks she can protect him by lying to him.

 _Don't lie to me_ , he wants to say, but doesn't. It won't make a difference.

He helps her into dress after dress, makes sure her makeup is done right, checks to see she's got the right combination of accessories and does about a hundred other things.

 _Which one's your favorite?_ she asks him as the prep team debates whether or not they should move closer to the window for the next shot. She's devouring a cheese bun her mother gave her. He wonders if Peeta baked it.

He is sure that Peeta knows exactly how she got that scar on her cheek.

 _None,_ he says in answer to Katniss' question. _I hate them all._

She pales and almost chokes on her bread.

He shrugs and says, _You told me not to lie to you._

oOo

The next day he sits on a stage with Caesar Flickerman, who asks, _So, Cinna, which one is your favorite?_

 _I don't know, Caesar, I love them all,_ he replies, and smiles directly into the camera, his facial features twisted with just the right amount of charm.

This, Prim later tells him, is the exact moment that Katniss dashes out of the room and throws up into the kitchen sink.

oOo

He watches her walk down the aisle in the wedding gown he designed, the wedding gown he created, the wedding gown he helped her into. He didn't let the prep team do anything. He did it all on his own. Her makeup, her hair, everything. He made sure everything was perfect.

She reaches Peeta, who is staring at her like no one else in the world exists, and Haymitch willingly hands her over after dropping a kiss on the top of her head. Peeta lifts Katniss' veil out of her face. They say their vows, they exchange rings, they kiss.

Cinna finds Gale in the crowd and wonders if the bitterness in the Seam boy's eyes is present in his own.

He hopes not. He's tried so hard to make this day perfect; he'd hate to be the one to ruin it by making the bride feel guilty.

oOo

He does just that at the reception, despite his noble intentions. He's dancing with Katniss and when he calls her Mrs. Mellark, he honestly doesn't mean for his voice to sound so flat.

Her eyes shine with tears as she whispers, _Don't say it like that._

So he smiles and says nothing at all.

oOo

He lies awake all night and is horrified to discover that he has some sort of artist's block. How is he supposed to find release if he cannot design? How is he supposed to deal with the onslaught of emotions if he cannot channel them into his work?

He can't get the images out of his head. Peeta carrying Katniss over the threshold of their hotel room and laying her down on the bed. Katniss reaching up to grab fistfuls of his shirt and pull him on top of her. Peeta's hands on her naked body, on the bare skin that Cinna has seen so many times but has never been allowed to touch that way. Katniss screaming Peeta's name, her nails digging into his shoulder blade, her head thrown back. Katniss falling asleep in Peeta's arms. Peeta waking up to Katniss' lovely face and her dark hair splayed across his pillow.

Of course Cinna knows that they did not marry willingly, but they're teenagers with so much pressure on their shoulders. Would it be so surprising if they gave themselves over to passion for one night?

He sits up in his bed, clutches his head in his hands. He wishes he could empty his mind of every thought he has ever had, if only to forget that he is living his worst nightmare.

oOo

Their honeymoon lasts a week. Cinna has not designed a single outfit. At first he tries to put his eyeliner on, but he gives up after he nearly pokes his eye out because his hands are shaking so hard. He hardly eats, he hardly sleeps.

Effie tells him he's probably got some sort of virus, recommends he go see a doctor and then avoids him like the plague. Haymitch, who seems to know exactly what is wrong, raises a glass to him and says, _Cheer up, my friend, we'll be dead and buried before you know it._

On the last day, when he enters the dining room for breakfast, Portia smiles at him sympathetically and then casually remarks that she heard some rumour going around that Mrs. Mellark's sheets didn't need to be changed at all this week.

He's not sure if that makes him feel better or worse.

oOo

On the train ride back to District Twelve, where the toasting will take place, Katniss seeks him out. When the train stops for fuel they step outside and walk until they are sure no one will overhear them.

Katniss bluntly says, _I didn't have sex with him._

Cinna gives her a long look before finally deciding that he believes her. _But you wanted to,_ he guesses.

 _No, I didn't,_ is her immediate response.

He's honestly sure that it's not too much to ask, so he says, _Don't lie to me._


End file.
